"FISTICUFFS ON EVEREST" - The Daily Fail at it again

World-class alpinists Ueli Steck (Swiss) and Simone Moro (Italian) are on Mt. Everest to attempt a new route without oxygen. In this episode, the team quickly travels from Base Camp to Camp 2 in four hours, with a two-hour descent to BC. Here's what they have to say about acclimatization and working together.

AFP--Fight on Everest sparks police probe

An aerial view of Mount Everest (centre) taken earlier this month. Police near Mount Everest are investigating reports of a fight on the upper reaches of the world's highest mountain between two foreign climbers and their Nepalese guides, officials said Sunday.
AFP - Police near Mount Everest are investigating reports of a fight on the upper reaches of the world's highest mountain between two foreign climbers and their Nepalese guides, officials said Sunday.

"We were told our clients and the guides fought on their way to camp three. We don't have all the details yet, but our clients have come down off the peak," said Anish Gupta of Cho-Oyu Trekking, the Kathmandu-based company that organised the expedition.

He said that one of the clients, a Swiss national, had descended the mountain and was currently waiting for a flight back to Kathmandu.

The other client, an Italian, remained at Everest Base Camp and may still try to summit the 8,848-metre (29,029-foot) peak.

Sitaram Karki, the chief district officer in Solukhumbu, the region where Everest stands, told AFP the police were conducting an investigation, but the details were still unclear.

"There are communication issues high on the mountain, but we have received the reports of a fight and deployed our team to investigate the incident," Karki said.

The last week of April revealed a few surprises on Everest with uncertain weather and difficulty in establishing a route up the Lhotse Face.

The week started with heavy snow in the Western CWM including a meter, three feet, near Camp 1. This stopped most teams from moving up or down but proved to be a temporary halt as strong Sherpas and ambitious climbers broke trail on Tuesday thus allowing movement to resume.

The team leaders on the South gathered and agreed on a plan to fix the route above Camp 2. Over 15 Sherpas took on the task from nine different teams. The Sherpas made excellent progress to fix two lines, and up and a down rope, to the lower of the two Camp 3′s mid way up the Lhotse Face before running into a deep crevasse. It was reported that one Sherpa was hit by falling ice but his injury was not reported as serious. They took today, Sunday, off to rest.

Update: Report issued by Moro of a fight Friday between Ueli Steck, Simone Moro and the Sherpa fixing rope on the Lhotse Face. Translation . It appears both sides became upset as they felt there was interference with one another during the rope fixing work. While it is serious if in fact blows were exchanged, I would not get too upset by this as it is easy for egos and tempers to get out of control in these compressed environments.

A Sherpa was reported to have been hurt by “falling ice” on Friday but it is not clear this was related to this incident. However, it is now pretty clear that the Sherpas taking a “rest day” day is related to the incident. Hopefully everyone has calmed down and can get back to climbing.

Moro, Steck and Griffith assaulted and threatened with death by the Sherpas. The account of the facts
April 28, 2013 - 17:32 | Author: Valentina d'Angella
The summit of Everest

The summit of Everest

Everest Base Camp, Nepal - "Things of this world," he told us the first thing Simone Moro when we spoke to him on the serious events that have just transpired at high camps of Everest, and he could not comment so that the inexplicable aggression which has been the subject of the Italian mountaineer, along with Ueli Steck and Jon Griffith. The following is the official press release issued by the expedition: the story of a violent assault, with a lot of death threats. For whatever reason, an ugly chapter in the history of Everest which falls precisely in the year of the sixtieth anniversary of the first ascent of the roof of the world.

"At around 8 am on April 27, 2013 Simone Moro, Ueli Steck and Jonathan Griffith have left the tent to reach camp 2 at about 7200 meters (field 3, bottom) on the west face of Lhotse. A team of high altitude Sherpas was gearing up the fixed ropes the wall and asked to mountaineers not to touch the strings as long as they worked. Therefore, the trio climbed about 50 feet away to avoid disturbing Sherpa in their work.

It should be noted that all three of the climbers have a long experience climbing mountains around the world and are well aware of the work they do the Sherpa who deeply respect.

When the three climbers reached the height at which they had pitched the tent, have made the traverse in the snow and were forced to cross the ropes of the Sherpas to reach their tent, located about 20 meters on each side. The climbers chose to cross at a point where others were standing 4 Sherpa parked while their leader continued to stare at the strings above.

Overcoming the strings did not interfere in any way with their work. The mountaineers climbed disconnected and without using the ropes, so no rope is tangled in another. Also, being passed over their heads, they could not hit him knocking him any snow or ice.

Jonathan Griffith went before and after passing the ropes course and another 15 meters behind him Ueli Steck. At that point, when Ueli Steck has exceeded the ropes and the leader of the Sherpa climbers noted below began to shout and hit the ice with the ax.

Continuing to yell climbers hooked the rope and came down to rest. Since Ueli was loose and not attached to ropes, it was natural that it should hold your hands up to protect from the head of the Sherpas who fell right where he was. This has led the leader of the Sherpas to accuse him of "touching him."

As he hit the ice with all his strength and shouted at him Ueli Steck "because you touch me", said the climbers had hit the ice one of the Sherpas. Since the trio was climbing in a fully independent and moved upon the snow, this is highly unlikely.

Ueli Steck has tried to calm him by offering him help in fixing the ropes up to Camp 3, but this has only made things worse. Simone Moro then, he joined the group and the leader of the Sherpas if it is taken with him wielding the ax against him. Simone has cursed him, as is natural when it is attacked.

No further discussion was able to calm the leader of the Sherpas and as a final act of defiance gave orders to his entire team of 17 Sherpa on the west face of Lhotse to return to camp 2. There was no reason to come down from the mountain because of the 3 climbers. They had not touched nor had interfered with their work. To defuse the situation Ueli Steck has set more than 260 meters of rope up to Camp 3.

When then the climbers fell to Field 2, about 100 gathered Sherpa attacked them. Have suddenly become aggressive, not just kicking and punching but also throwing stones at them.

A small group of Western acted as a buffer between the crowd out of control and climbers, and they owe their lives to these brave and selfless people. However, the three climbers were attacked as well as many of the Westerners who were trying to calm the situation. It has been said that the climbers during the night one of them would be dead, and that the other two would be decided later.

After about 50 minutes the crowd calmed down and the mountaineers, who had been driven away, and who had been told to hide, he was told that if they were gone within an hour would kill them all.

The climbers have taken the essential and followed a circuitous route to go down to the base camp of Everest, a new way in the midst of crevasses, seracs and without strings, knowing that given the situation that was the safest place to stay ( ed. since it did not allow them to follow the normal route).

The Sherpas have said that the reason why they attacked the climbers was that they had brought upon the ice to those of them who were under. No one, however, appears Sherpa wounded. On the other hand on a wall of ice, being hit by pieces of ice is a possibility that can happen. The climbers believe that the head of the Sherpas was tired, she was cold and he felt wounded pride from their three who moved without a rope and much faster than him, salendogli the side. In any case, there is no reason to keep trying to kill 3 foreign mountaineers.

Nepalese authorities have taken the matter very seriously since there are commercial expeditions on the mountain. There are 3 leaders were taken away from the mountain and the police, the Ministry of Tourism and the leaders of the Association of Sherpa are investigating.

The three climbers would like to thank all those who have saved their lives in Field 2, and those who now are carrying out the investigation. "

Jan: Thanks for your realistic analysis and prediction of outcomes. Anthropologsts should replace journalists as news sources when cultural divides must be crossed.

So you hire people to do something and while they are doing it you do something that makes them feel threatened.

The larger question . . . is whether alpine style ascents dominated by westerners or Sherpa guided ascents will predominate in the Himalayas of the future. A good compromise perhaps, would be for the pros to stay away from Everest, especially the crowded southside, and leave that to the Sherpas and their clients.

Everyone else, thanks for the clarifications on what happened. This is going to be a mess. Sherpas looking out for high ticket clients to come versus brilliant alpinists who want to get up the mountain by their own means.

He concludes, "to me multiple mistakes were made from both sides".........."The professional climbers involved could have and should have chosen somewhere else to acclimatize on this day, instead of solo climbing above the rope fixing team".......

By the crowded standards of the Alps, climbing over people and their ropes is ok. The Sherpas however, come from a different culture and I'm sure, feel their perogatives, responsibilities, and livelihood are threatened by do it yourself crews. They come from a culture of hierarchy, protocol, and face saving, all of which were ignored.

Something good could yet come of this.

Let us hope that Moro and Griffith make apologies

Plenty of money-grubbing as#@&%es in every culture.

In a statement released Monday on Steck’s website, the expedition said, “The three climbers feel that they don’t believe that their actions were the reasons behind such a mass attack. They believe that the reaction was from a far more deep rooted and long term problem, which is the way that Nepalis feel treated by westerners on the mountain and this was a uprising against that.”

In an interview with Planet Mountain, Moro said, “We’re abandoning the expedition…Despite having met those who attacked us, having embraced and having forgiven them, I wanted that the meeting with everyone at Base Camp ended with my words that underlined the esteem I have for the Sherpa and Nepal, but I also stated that this violence killed our climbing dream and that we are leaving. I will probably stay on, but only to fly the helicopter and carry out rescue operations, but Ueli and Jon will return home. I want to add that that fact that I wish to stay and help with rescues (free for the Sherpa people) shows my desire to help these people. Everyone here is shocked and aware of the violence that was committed, they realised that a simple handshake isn’t enough to change a relationship that has mutated too much since that one in 1953. Today Everest is too much of a business and there are too many heroes.”

If the free lancers were entirely self sufficient, that would be one thing but they're essentially dirt baggers using other people's work and equipment for free and then bragging how they got up Everest on their own.

In a statement released Monday on Steck’s website, the expedition said, “The three climbers feel that they don’t believe that their actions were the reasons behind such a mass attack. They believe that the reaction was from a far more deep rooted and long term problem, which is the way that Nepalis feel treated by westerners on the mountain and this was a uprising against that.”

Which ought be respected by the Sherpa Guides who essentially, are there foremost for income motives.

there would have been no one to "draft"as well. Hummm... TY

I am defending the Sherpas because I know their culture and because there's no one else to defend them. I am not justifying violence.

while we were up there “7 Summits” showed up with 103 clients. ONE HUNDRED AND THREE. R U kidding?)
WOW!!!

Today, on 2070 Bhaishak 16 (April 29, 2013) at Everest base camp at SPCC office, with the presence of the Chief of Nepal Army team leader, Major Sunilsingh Rathor and the following attended personnels agreed to do the following decisions regarding the arguments between the two groups on April 27 while fixing ropes between camp 2 & camp 3.

1. On April 27 2013, above Everest Base Camp, at Camp 2 and Camp 3 an argument arose between foreign climbers and Nepali climbers and the situation was discussed today at this meeting. Both parties have realized their errors and apologized to each other in front of those present. Furthermore, both parties agreed to help each other in the future to make successful each others goals. It has also been decided that this issue will not be raised again.

2. All those present agreed and committed that such activities must never be repeated by anyone in mountaineering and in the tourism sector. If any party is dissatisfied with the actions of another party, they commit not to go into conflict or use violence against the other party. Instead they commit to report the actions to the government representatives or relevent government recognized association present at the base camps, to come to an amicable solution between the parties.

Dear UKC,

We, at Base Camp, have been following the posts made and thank you for your restraint. I realise that it is a one sided argument but this is a very complicated situation. As people have mentioned the Sherpas have a long history of very kind, hard working, pacifists. It is my first time to Nepal but Ueli and Simone have been here for many years. Ueli for example climbed Everest last year with Sherpa Tenji as a climbing partner not as a Sherpa. Sherpa Tenji was booted out from a commercial expedition last year, as it was decided that he wasn't needed, and Ueli offered to climb together with him as Tenji's aim had always been to summit Everest without oxygen. I am also glad to say that Sherpa Tenji was part of our team this year. Simone has done 43 trips to Nepal and his relationship with Sherpas stretches way back. If you talk to Sherpas at Base Camp they having nothing but good things to say about him. He has a rescue helicopter out here and even offers free rescue service to all Sherpas and Porters on the mountain. So I think both Ueli and Simone have a long history of respect and friendship with the Sherpas.

The Press Release is, hand on heart, exactly what happened on the day. I wrote it. But as many have noted the reaction was not because of our actions but because of a deeper rooted problem. I realise that when you see the reaction from the Sherpas that it is natural to think that we did something terrible that we are not saying, but honestly this was not the case. The only reason given from the lead Sherpa was that we knocked ice down but I honestly cannot imagine this happened, the fact that no Sherpa has come forward with any injuries does back us up some what. I accept that our presence on the mountain may have stressed the Sherpas out but statements that we were told not to climb that day are total fabrications. We were asked by a IMG guide to not clip in to the ropes and naturally we did not do so. We kept far away from them when ascending - the Lhotse Face is immense. Please understand that any anonymous eyewitness reports from Camp 2 are ludicrous. The fact that they are anonymous and most importantly that Camp 2 is located miles away from the Lhotse Face makes any 'eyewitness' report a bit unrealistic (I'm a photographer and even my most powerful lenses wouldn't let me see that well). The fact that this anonymous source said we then walked back through Camp is proof of the lies as there was no chance we walked back through Camp. We were shitting ourselves, the idea of walking through Camp was suicidal. We tracked straight over towards Nuptse and headed down an unbelievably crevassed glacier with no tracks and no ropes. At times we were crawling. As dangerous as this was it actually seemed like a haven of safety compared to Camp 2.

I understand that we will all come out of this looking bad. It is natural. But in the end everyone looks bad from this incident. The few bad apples reflect very badly on the Sherpa community and they are very aware of this. The ring leaders are actually about 30 metres away from our camp. There are no police here. But we feel safe because the whole Nepalese Community at Base Camp are outraged by what happened and are acting as the local police. However this is a hugely delicate and complicated problem. We had a ceremony yesterday where we all talked publicly about what happened and that the reaction we incurred from the Sherpas was something that the Commercial Teams and the Everest Community as a whole had to deal with. It was not entirely due to our actions. We were the tip of the iceberg and we have talked with the ring leader about this. As such we are not taking legal action but leaving it in the hands of the community to find a suitable 'disciplinary action' (as they call it). They see this as a very major underlying problem and something that has to be dealt with before it happens again. Simply throwing them in jail will cause a riot, it is important to find the right balance where the Sherpas are able to voice their problems and concerns to the community and the old 'respect' between client and Sherpa and vice versa is re-established. For the moment the Sherpas feel used and that they are not treated with respect by their Western clients.

For us our trip is over. The Nepalese were hoping we would all shake hands and continue with our trip and this will all be swept under the carpet. We didn't really see this as reality. It was the most harrowing experience of our lives and there is no way we feel safe up the mountain anymore. Ueli is a man I have known and climbed with for many years. I have never seen him like this before, and this is a man who doesn't live life in the safety zone. He has lost all trust in the Sherpa community and has barely slept since the incident. I can see in him that part of him has been destroyed and will take a long time to heal.

As a final comment. A very influential character (sorry no names right now) has asked the Ministry of Tourism to have written on every permit that climbers are not allowed to climb before the fixing team. If this happens it means the only way you can climb Everest is by climbing in a nice big track and on fixed lines with tons of people. It also means that any teams who want to climb something (in alpine style) apart from the Normal Route will not be able to acclimatise in advance before their ascent. It is insane, but it shows the attitude towards this mountain.

If any of the above is a bit confusing then please realise that things are pretty manic right now. I've slept very little in the last few days. But I felt it was important to write and answer some of the questions raised by your comments.

Jon Griffith

Uli said that he was confronted by the mob and was immediately hit in the head by a fist followed by a rock to the head. Melissa pushed Uli into the kitchen tent to protect him from the mob. The Sherpa men would not hit a woman so she was the buffer of protection from the very angry mob. Since it was too hard to figure out what was happening to Simone and Jonathan, Melissa sent a Sherpa from Simone's camp to get he and Jonathan from the glacier. They were secretly ushered into the same kitchen tent as Uli and buffered from the mob by Melissa and the head of Camp 2 for IMG. The men promised that if Simone came out on his knees and begged for forgiveness he would not be hurt. Simone tried to get out of the tent on his knees when he was beaten and forced back inside. Awhile later Melissa asked Simone to get back on his knees outside the tent and ask for forgiveness again. She had been assured by the instigaters that he would not be hurt. So Simone got on his knees to ask for forgiveness and was kicked under the chin, someone tried to stab him with a pen knife, but fortunately the knife hit him in the padded belt of his backpack.

Marty Schmidt recalled when I talked with him at Camp 2 that he saw a man getting ready to bring a large rock down on Simone's head to kill him. Marty grabbed the rock and the mans arm and shouted “no, no violence.” For his intervention he received a rock to the head himself. Marty was still wearing the bandage on his head when I spoke with him.

Looks like gun packing shall be next for the big E!

This whole debacle makes me sad.

Alex Jones will soon appear to tell you how this event went about ......

Truth be told, an insufficient number of lobsters is actually what led to the whole conflict.

while we were up there “7 Summits” showed up with 103 clients. ONE HUNDRED AND THREE. R U kidding?)
WOW!!!

Simone and Jonathan managed to run away but I was not fast enough (I am getting slow and old.

What has gone on up on the mountain yesterday has lowered moral here at EBC. Mountains have no place for egos, you see it time and time again, eventually a price is paid.

I have attached a short piece I wrote today about the fight at camp 2. I fully stand behind this piece, and recognize that I will be taking a position that may be unpopular at this time.


Fight at Camp 2 on Everest

As this story has emerged in the media it has become clear that the Sherpas have not been given a voice. The press releases, the blogging, and reports from the European climbers have dominated the headlines. Meanwhile the Sherpa are quietly continuing to fix the rope and continue their work at nearly 8000 meters on Everest. These Sherpa help realize the dream of many western climbers and will continue to be honored and respected by the foreign climbers who climb with them on Everest.

I have pieced together an objective version of events different from what is currently in the media headlines. These details are directly from what I heard on the radio on April 27th, my discussions with many people in base camp over the last 2 days including expedition leaders, western guides, and clients who were at Camp 2 during this incident, and Sirdars (head Sherpa) who directly supervise the fixing team.

On April 18th, 2013:

All expedition leaders and Sherpa Sirdars were invited and attended a meeting in Everest base camp to discuss the rope fixing strategy for this season on Everest. At this meeting everyone had a chance to suggest the best strategy and route to safely climb the mountain. The meeting concluded with the nomination of fixing Sherpas (the best available) and the suitable dates to complete the work. It was also agreed at the meeting by all the expedition leaders that nobody would be climbing on the route on these dates except the fixing team. That while these young men were working to fix the route for all expeditions at base camp, no expedition would disrupt or create a distraction for them. Unfortunately, Simone Moro did not attend this meeting, and might not have been aware that this protocol is an unwritten rule on Everest.

Over the next few days all the teams at base camp pitched in and Sherpas carried over 50 loads through the Khumbu Icefall to Camp 2. The fixing started on April 26th, for 2 days the Sherpa were scouting the best route on the Lhotse face and by the 27th they were less than an hour from reaching camp 3.

The 3 European climbers set out the morning of the 27th heading for the Lhotse face. After suggestions from both guides and Sherpa at Camp 2 and below the Lhotse face to turn around, because fixing the Lhotse face demands strict concentration, the 3 climbers continued on to the Lhotse face moving up and to the left of the fixing route. The 3 climbers moved alpine style up the Lhotse face and were headed towards their camp (just below camp 3 on the Lhotse face).

At this time the Sherpa fixing team were working on the Lhotse Face and have reached one of the steeper & more exposed areas. The temperature was dropping and the winds were picking up. As the fixing team was moving through a steeper section of the Lhotse face, the 3 European climbers met with the fixing team. The fixing team alerted the 3 climbers to not touch or cross the rope. This is a high intensity environment where people’s instincts are at a heightened state. The lead fixing Sherpa spoke with one of the 3 climbers at which point physical contact was made, at that point Simone came in verbal contact with a number of the fixing team who had now congregated at one of the anchors to secure themselves from sliding down the face.

Simone began to shout, many of the words in Nepali language, and many of the words were inflammatory. At this point the fixing team made the correct decision to drop their loads of rope and hardware, attaching them to the installed line, and descend without any further interaction or confrontation with the 3 climbers. The fixing team descended to camp 2 and went to their respective camps as a number of expedition teams work together to fix the route on Mt. Everest. As the fixing team descended to camp 2, Simone radioed down requesting to know what the Sherpa were talking about. At one point Simone stated over open radio frequency (fixing frequency-tuned in by all the fixing teams and anyone listening on the mountain) that if the Sherpa had a problem he could come down to Camp 2 soon and “f—ing fight”.

As Simone returned back to Camp 2 he again spoke over the fixing frequency a demand to speak with the fixing team comprised of 16 Sherpa (of 8 different teams) back at camp 2. He explained that he would meet them at one of the expedition camps. When he arrived in Camp 2 he went to his tent. At this point some western guides went to Simone’s camp to explain that he should apologize for the situation his team created during a very dangerous workday. As the western guides spoke to Simone, Sherpas from many different teams congregated as a result of his radio call from the Lhotse face and wanted to speak with Simone and get an apology and to explain to him how difficult their job had been that day. The Sherpas who were together felt that Simone’s words and interactions were both hurtful to the individuals, as well as grave and serious insults to the entire Sherpa community. As the Sherpas approached Simone’s camp tensions were high and they wanted to have a discussion with an already angered Simone. Then Simone came out to talk and both sides approached each other in loud discussion at which point a careless western climber who had not been involved up on the Lhotse face arrived and entangled physically with a Sherpa. This was the ignition for what ensued next. It is safe to say that the Sherpa thought this western climber was part of Simone’s team and had initiated a dangerous confrontation. At this point the Sherpa felt as if they needed to defend themselves as they had just seen one of their colleagues attacked. The tense situation ignited and a brawl ensued.

The brawl was stopped by a group of western climbers and Sherpa working together. Simone’s team was protected by both a Sherpa group and a few western climbers and guides. As the group separated, Simone requested to apologize for his actions. After things calmed down, Simone’s team descended to base camp. The following day, April 28th, was peaceful.

April 29th:

To Simone’s credit he did not want to leave Everest until he had a chance to make peace with the furious Sherpas. The Sherpa met in base camp and discussed peacefully the events of the fixing day (April 27th), and both parties recognized the errors in what they said and did, and apologized to each other. Simone reiterated his respect for the Sherpas and for the work they do and both sides agreed to work together in the future to make sure something like this never happens again.

The Sherpa community understands this unfortunate and avoidable situation was unacceptable. The Sirdars have committed to educate these hard working young men about handling the stresses of a very intense job.

In climbing the Nepalese side of Mt. Everest, all the teams collaborate in working together to ultimately achieve a mutual goal, to reach the top of Mt. Everest safely and the Sherpa are a major part of this goal. The first summit of Everest in 1953 was Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, a foreigner and a Nepalese Sherpa. The first American ascent in 1963 was Jim Whittaker and Nawang Gombu Sherpa, also a foreigner and a Sherpa.

I sincerely hope that this incident does not damage how the Sherpas perceive the foreigners who come to climb on their mountain. We aim to uphold the spirit of climbing together to accomplish our common goals and to respect one another throughout our mountaineering endeavors.

It's funny we use to have fist fights in Camp 4 before the internet and no one cared.

there would be repercussions including from the local gendarmerie.

Then Simone came out to talk and both sides approached each other in loud discussion at which point a careless western climber who had not been involved up on the Lhotse face arrived and entangled physically with a Sherpa. This was the ignition for what ensued next.

I would love to know the history of the Chamonix guide service. I'll bet there were similar incidents as they organized themselves for the monopoly they have. You can bet if someone trampled over a guide and his client on a route around there, there would be repercussions including from the local gendarmerie.

because fixing the Lhotse face demands strict concentration, the 3 climbers continued on to the Lhotse face moving up and to the left of the fixing route

I honestly don't understand why anyone bothers with Everest now. Such a pile of B.S.

Jonathan Griffith is on NPR right now. Nice interview. Check it out on All Things Considered.

klk also says that he isn't aware of any incidents of threats or violence amongst western guides in the Himilaya, but I have dim memories of some pretty sordid goings on involving a South African expedition to Everest a number of years ago, and also one (possibly the same incident)involving a well-known British guide also a few years ago. And, though a different category, there are plenty of stories of quite dramatic--and sometimes violent--internal incidents on any number of non-commercial Himalayan expeditions

The Sherpas were dead, two more victims of an attempt to scale Mt. Everest. Members of a French climbing expedition, sensitive perhaps about leaving the bodies where they could not be recovered, rolled them off a steep mountain face. One body, however, crashed to a stop near Sherpas on a separate expedition far below. They stared at the frozen corpse, stunned. They said nothing, but an American climber observing the scene interpreted their thoughts: Nobody would throw the body of a white climber off Mt. Everest.

For more than a century, climbers from around the world have journeyed to test themselves on Everest's treacherous slopes, enlisting the expert aid of the Sherpas who live in the area. Drawing on years of field research in the Himalayas, renowned anthropologist Sherry Ortner presents a compelling account of the evolving relationship between the mountaineers and the Sherpas, a relationship of mutual dependence and cultural conflict played out in an environment of mortal risk.

Ortner explores this relationship partly through gripping accounts of expeditions--often in the climbers' own words--ranging from nineteenth-century forays by the British through the historic ascent of Hillary and Tenzing to the disasters described in Jon Krakauer's Into Thin Air. She reveals the climbers, or "sahibs," to use the Sherpas' phrase, as countercultural romantics, seeking to transcend the vulgarity and materialism of modernity through the rigor and beauty of mountaineering. She shows how climbers' behavior toward the Sherpas has ranged from kindness to cruelty, from cultural sensitivity to derision. Ortner traces the political and economic factors that led the Sherpas to join expeditions and examines the impact of climbing on their traditional culture, religion, and identity. She examines Sherpas' attitude toward death, the implications of the shared masculinity of Sherpas and sahibs, and the relationship between Sherpas and the increasing number of women climbers. Ortner also tackles debates about whether the Sherpas have been "spoiled" by mountaineering and whether climbing itself has been spoiled by commercialism.

“That’s the great thing about Sherpas: You can fight with 100 of them but still make up and go climb Everest later like nothing happened.”

For serious historical scholarship on the Sherpas and mountaineering, see Sherri Ortner's book, Life and Death on Mt. Everest: Sherpas and Mountaineering.

Ortner also tackles debates about whether the Sherpas have been "spoiled" by mountaineering and whether climbing itself has been spoiled by commercialism.

That there are no archives is all a part of the inequality of the relationship. Sherpa is an unwritten language so all we have are ethnographic interviews based on memories from the Sherpa side and the well publicized western accounts of the past 100 years.

It's pretty obvious to me, that if these three superstar respected the one day of fixing, none of this would have happen.

Probably hard for western climbers who fear brown people to comprehend.

It's pretty obvious to me, that if these three superstar respected the one day of fixing, none of this would have happen.

Sorry, for your lack of reading comprehension.

Do u really need it spelled out for u?

Edit,

For u and DMT, we look at Sherpas as third world labor because of the color of their skin and economics of their country, and this is hard for white people who have lots of money to understand.


I'll try to be less metaphorical in the future, LOL:)

He was cognizant of the relatively brief risk he exposed them to from falling ice and did everything he could to minimize that risk

The Sherpas are pissed that some people are taking bread out of their mouths and walking through their worksite caution tape at the same time.

Once again, that's the difference. The people who live there all the time may not share the sentiments of their clients. It's business.

So as to clarify, every one who goes on a climbing holiday in a foreign country, regardless of their ideals concerning ascent methods is still some one having a holiday.

Well, not to put too fine a point on it but I'm pretty sure the guides at
Lake Louise, Squeamish, and Mt Rainier aren't really the 'owners', unless
you're all for white supremacy.

Why should one set of climbers wait to climb simply because another set wants to climb at the same time (in this case, to fix ropes)?

There is no one group or individual who has more right to be on the mountain than others.

Finally, while I am happy that some mountains like Everest and Denali have a degree of self-regulation, this self-regulation is really optional. Climbers have no right to enforce their own code of conduct on other climbers.

While there is no doubt that the Sherpa do the majority of the hard work on commercial (and many other) expeditions, they do not own the mountain any more than anyone else.

It's a f*#king mountain. Anyone is free to climb it by whatever means.

Sherpas pride hurt - bfd.

But I don't think that's true at all. In fact, I think you're treating the situation differently because of who is involved. Again, imagine if this happened in the US: say I'm doing an independent climb of Liberty Ridge and RMI is guiding a bunch of people up. I'm moving faster and going to a higher camp than they are. We're on an area of 60 degree ice and I am staying away from them to the extent that is reasonable. At some point I have to cross over their lines to get to my camp. I do so at the most reasonable point possible--not over top of the leader, trying to be careful not to hurt the followers and belayer below.

For my trouble, I'm pushed or otherwise touched while soloing on 60 degree ice, by someone who is anchored to the slope. And then, when I get to my camp, a group of 100 RMI guides assemble, hitting me, throwing rocks at me and telling me to run off the mountain or they'll throw me off.